A kidnapping gang who forced two men into a van, beat them with bats and threaten to cut off their fingers and ears have been jailed for a total of over 44 years.
Mason Schubeler, 20, Harri Pearce, 22, Reece Speirs, 23, Ricky Fidler, 21, and Laura Watson, 46, all played their part in a terrifying kidnap which saw two men bound with cable ties and forced into a van on July 1 last year. One victim jumped out of the van to escape whilst the second was subjected to an ordeal lasting over three hours.
Both of the victims do not speak English as their first language and one was so terrified he ended up jumping out of the moving van on the Coast Road in order to put an end to the ordeal. After exiting the van in front of shocked passers-by, the victim - who was still tied up - hit his head on a parked vehicle and was in a coma for around a week afterwards.
